Lenovo K8 Note India Sale, Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) & Galaxy A7 (2017) Price Cuts, and More: Your 360 Daily

The Lenovo K8 Note (Review) went on sale in India for the first time today, following its unveiling last week. The K8 Note is available exclusively on Amazon in India, and if you manage to buy one, you can choose between Black and Gold colour options. The next sale will be held on August 25. The Lenovo K8 Note variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage is priced at Rs. 12,999, but you can spend just Rs. 1,000 more for 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. During the launch sale, buyers were offered a discount on Moto Sports headphones, up to 80 percent off on Kindle ebooks, and a special Idea tariff pack from Idea which includes 64GB of 4G data and unlimited calls for 56 days for Rs. 343.

The Lenovo K8 note has a 5.5-inch full-HD screen and dual rear cameras. It is powered by a deca-core MediaTek MT6797 SoC, and has a 4000mAh battery. It is a dual-SIM phone with a separate microSD card slot, and supports 4G VoLTE as well as Wi-Fi ac. It also runs Android 7.1.1 with no custom UI, in a first for Lenovo.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), Galaxy A7 (2017) get price cuts in India
Samsung has officially cut the prices of its recently launched Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) smartphones. The Galaxy A5 gets a reduction from Rs. 26,900 to Rs. 22,900, while the Galaxy A7 goes from Rs. 30,900 to Rs. 25,900. Samsung hopes that this move will boost sales during the Indian festival season. The two phones were launched in India in March this year, originally priced at Rs. 28,990 and Rs. 33,490 respectively. The phones sit well below Samsung's premium Galaxy S8 models, but offer relatively premium specifications and designs.

Xiaomi claims exploding Redmi Note 4 was damaged by impact
Xiaomi has released preliminary findings from its investigation into an incident in which a Redmi Note 4 allegedly caught fire in a man's pocket in East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, causing burns on his thigh. According to the company, the fire was most likely the result of an "extreme external force" applied to the device. Xiaomi says it was able to retrieve the device from the affected man after negotiating for a week, and that damage to the rear cover, battery and screen all indicate that such force was applied. According to initial reports, the man was riding his bike when he felt the phone burning in his pocket, and he immediately stopped and threw it away from him.

BSNL launches its own mobile wallet
State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has launched its own mobile wallet, developed by and co-branded with Mobikwik. The company hopes that its 100 million customers will use it to pay bills and transact online, expanding the reach of mobile commerce to rural and semi-urban parts of the country. Users can book bus tickets, make purchases, and pay bills through the wallet app, without using cash. The public-sector telco has stated that over 1.5 million merchants are already able to receive payments using the BSNL wallet.

Infosys CEO resigns due to pressure from co-founder
Vishal Sikka has resigned from Infosys with immediate effect, a little over three years after taking over as CEO and MD. He will, however, continue to remain Executive Vice Chairman of the company, while COO U.B. Pravin Rao will take over as interim CEO. Sikka reportedly quit because of "false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks" that he has sustained over several months, which he added were undermining all the good work that has been done and taking all the passion and excitement out of his job. The Infosys board has put out a statement expressing regret and distress over Sikka's decision, calling the attacks unfounded and demonstrably false. A new CEO will be appointed by the board by March 31, 2018.

Asus promises Android O updates for ZenFone 4, ZenFone 3 series smartphones
Asus has announced it will provide Android O support for last year's ZenFone 3 smartphones, along with the new ZenFone 4 models released recently. Smartphones of both series will receive the update by the first half of 2018, the company says. ZenFone 3 models running older versions of the ZenUI skin will also be upgraded to ZenUI 4.0, which is said to be lighter and have less bloatware, but still add new features such as the ability to run two instances of some apps.

Micromax launches Evok Dual Note, continues teasing Infinity series
Micromax has launched a new model called the Evok Dual Note. The device is exclusive to Flipkart, and boasts of dual rear cameras along with a front flash. It is priced at Rs. 9,999 and features a 5.5-inch full-HD screen, MediaTek MT6750 SoC, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. A variant with 4GB of RAM has also been announced, but its pricing and availability are not yet known. The device supports 4G with VoLTE and runs Android 7.0.

Micromax also continues to tease its upcoming Canvas Infinity smartphone, which seems likely to have a taller 18:9 screen and narrow borders. The new model is set to be launched on Tuesday. Anyone interested in the launch can register for updates on Micromax's website. No prices or other specifications are known yet.

Coolpad Cool M7 launched, new India flagship coming soon
Coolpad has launched its Cool M7 model in China. The device features a slim body with a single rear camera, a 5.5-inch full-HD screen with curved-edge glass, dual-SIM support, a Snapdragon 625 SoC, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The company has not said anything about plans to launch this device in India. However, the company will be unveiling an unknown "flagship" device in India on Sunday. Teasers suggest that it will have a metal body and 6GB of RAM. Coolpad is also promising "sturdy sophistication" and will probably target style-conscious buyers with this new device.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 rumoured to feature 3D face recognition
Xiaomi's upcoming Mi Mix 2 is set to improve upon its predecessor in a number of ways, one of which could be the addition of a 3D face recognition feature. Screenshots purporting to be from this device have appeared on the Internet, and indicate that a head-shaped silhouette will be displayed on the screen when the phone is trying to authenticate users' faces. The device could launch as soon as next month, and is expected to have a 6.4-inch borderless screen plus a Snapdragon 835 SoC, a 4500mAh battery, and up to 8GB of RAM with 256GB of storage.

Google's Project Treble coming to older phones
Project Treble, Google's attempt to fix Android ecosystem fragmentation, is coming to existing smartphones later this year. The software framework was initially pitched as a feature for Android O devices, but it has not been announced that smartphone manufacturers are working on supporting existing models. Google's own Pixel devices are going to benefit from Project Treble, but no third-party names have been confirmed yet. Project Treble will allow Android updates to be delivered quickly and without much disruption, and should allow for simpler and more frequent updates, thus fixing the problem of relatively modern phones being left behind.